


Catharsis

by FreeShavocadoo



Category: HiGH&LOW (Movies), HiGH&LOW: the Story of S.W.O.R.D. (TV)
Genre: Don't @ Me, M/M, Mermaids are non-binary, Tooth Rotting Fluff, Trans Male Character, mermaid au, what shape of water could've been if it was good
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2018-09-05
Updated: 2018-09-05
Packaged: 2019-07-07 09:32:25
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 3,974
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/15905589
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/FreeShavocadoo/pseuds/FreeShavocadoo
Summary: One day on the beach, Takeshi finds more than he bargained for.(Mermaid AU)





	Catharsis

The weather near the coast had always been tumultuous and today was no exception, the wind was howling and the waves were getting choppier by the second. Takeshi had always liked coming to the tiny strip of what was somehow considered a beach when it was raining, it was a welcome distraction from the numerous pains in his life from the Nameless Street. It wasn’t that he wanted to shirk his responsibility, in fact, he tended to feel unnecessarily guilty just for making the trip. Yet it’d been a long week and the familiar sound of the rain thudding on all the metal surfaces in the area is oddly reassuring, even if the sky seems darker than usual. Standing on the sand is a surreal experience, the waves seeming to calm suddenly as though a storm has been and passed. The smell of salt in the air combined with the sting of the breeze carrying it make Takeshi’s eyes water profusely, making him have to continuously pat at his eyes with his long sleeve. Until his eyes land on something in the distance and for a second his heart is in his throat. He’s seen a dead body before, more than once when he visits the shore of this beach. Yakuza live in the area after all, meaning this was used as a frequent dumping ground for the bodies they amassed.

Something about the entire scene, his blurred vision and his instincts make him walk forward. He isn’t particularly sure why and knows Smokey would berate him for putting himself in such danger, yet he does it anyway. Perhaps he really is delirious on responsibility. What if this person was being looked for by a family? What if people were expecting them to come home? Takeshi can’t help but feel responsible somehow, having to see for himself if he could help in anyway. If it were one of his family he’d rather have the closure, no matter how horrible it was to know your loved one was one of the many bodies that had been amassed on these shores.

The rain has stopped which is a blissful release from the blurred vision that had been plaguing Takeshi since he stepped onto the sand, yet what he sees makes him wonder if it’s blurred vision or just some kind of head trauma from falling down from one structure too many. A series of noises just add to the disequilibrium he’s feeling, screeching and painful noises.

The figure on the sand definitely isn’t a dead body but Takeshi isn’t sure how he’d describe it outside of that. They have startling red hair, wavy and probably lower than waist length with clumps of seaweed in it. Their skin is so pale it’s almost luminescent, catching the moonlight in a way that leaves Takeshi’s mouth dry, their muscles catching all of the reflection and almost carrying a greenish tinge. Near his neck are deep indentations that would almost look painful, more severe than gills and more raised. When their hands lift to grasp at their own neck, their fingers are webbed and their nails are unnaturally long and sharp, dangerously so. If this wasn’t enough for Takeshi’s head to be reeling, the emerald coloured tail that was their lower body was, shimmering and beautiful. When another screech fills the air, Takeshi realises that this was the source of the horrible choked noises, wondering what exactly he’s supposed to do in such a bizarre situation.

As usual, adrenaline kicks in and Takeshi hoists the _mermaid_ up by grasping under their arms, dragging them over to the water as smoothly as possible. Thankfully, the sand is still wet which allows a bit of give, the mermaid sliding with relative ease when paired with Takeshi’s movements. The entire scene is making Takeshi’s head hurt yet he continues anyway, the agonising noises enough to spur on his last burst of energy when he finally manages to pull the mermaid into the water and ends up knee deep in the water in the process. They dip their head under and when it emerges out of the water once more, their eyes seem to be glowing, a seafoam green colour that seems to swallow all of the light reflected in the sea in their iris. Takeshi’s heart almost stops when they smile, a row of razor sharp, pristine white teeth. They tilt their head ever so slightly, regarding Takeshi with what could only be described as curiosity, even though they are lay on their stomach in shallow water with their tail swishing behind them.

“Are you…real?” Takeshi asks, the wind carrying his voice with a dreamlike echo, feeling ridiculous but also insanely curious, enough so to drop to his knees in the water, even though it dampens through his clothes immediately and now the water is up to his waist.

They bite their lip, as though the question doesn’t quite make sense to them, narrowing their eyes thoughtfully. The small freckles that dot across their face are a pale almost indistinguishable green but Takeshi’s eyes transfix on a number of scars that decorate their torso, some superficial and others deep and jagged. He wonders briefly what exactly could cause those kinds of scars.

“Am I real?” Their voice is raspy, as though the air they can breathe in isn’t as satisfying as the water, resulting in a voice that is marred by a scratchy intake of air. “Are you real?”

“Well…yes.” Takeshi replies, eyebrows furrowed. When he moves forward their eyes follow him even though their head doesn’t move, which is oddly disconcerting. Yet, when Takeshi’s hand reaches out they do not move and instead allow him to gently touch their arm that is splayed in front of them. Perhaps Takeshi’s curiosity is what drives him to run his fingers over the webbed fingers one by one, the texture odd but not unpleasant. A small hissing sound comes from their mouth, though not the type of hissing Takeshi is familiar with. It’s nothing like the hiss of a cat, which tends to be all teeth and wild eyes. Their face instead looks completely pliant and relaxed and when they rest their head on their free hand, they hiss again, a low and drawn out sound that almost makes Takeshi embarrassed.

“What happened to you?” Takeshi stares at them and then behind them, eyeing the waters that had been so turbulent just before he’d arrived. Imagining just being in the water when it’s like that is enough to make Takeshi shudder, knowing all too well how easy it was to be swept away by water that looks inviting but is as dangerous as it is unassuming.

“A storm, it seems.” They say, their voice still scratchy, though this time Takeshi can distinguish somewhat of an accent, as though it’s several blended together at once. Something about it is oddly captivating, like in the process of trying to pinpoint one specific accent he was irreversibly and wholeheartedly concentrating on every word and intonation.

“Are there many of…. you?” Takeshi ponders, wondering how many of these beings may be currently swirling around under the water unbeknownst to everyone else, beautiful and dangerous and completely solitary.

“Oh, yes,” they say, stretching further out on their stomach, swishing their tail up and down now, small waves lapping behind them, “but we tend not to end up on the shore.”

“Why?” Takeshi is captivated by the slow swish of their tail, back and forth. Whilst their tail is a deep emerald green, their fin is almost duo chrome, only made more enchanting when combined with the light reflections from being in the water.

“Not all of us can breathe above water.” They move their hands forward, tilting their head again as they poke and prod at Takeshi’s knees that are planted in the water, sinking into the wet sand. Though their nails make Takeshi want to flinch away, their pokes and prods somehow don’t skewer him. “Humans can also be an inconvenience.”

“Have you met many before? Humans, I mean.” Takeshi’s head spins at the concept, the notion that multiple humans may be walking around in the world, aware that mermaids are in fact swimming around the open water so freely.

“A few,” they move their arm fully up, their nail tracing down his cheek slowly as their eyes follow, practically glinting, “none as radiant as you, though.”

Takeshi has no idea how to respond, the bizarre nature of the entire exchange weighing on him as he sits there and lets the mermaid touch his face, as if he’s a piece of fine art, such a delicate touch it’s almost like the breeze caressing him.

“Do you have a name?” Takeshi wonders why he feels the need to ask this, even if he knows his curiosity gets the better of him. He was better off just accepting the ridiculousness of the situation rather than being hung up on it, after all. They smile once more, their tongue running over their sharp teeth as though in concentration.

“I’ve gone by many names over the years.” They say, dipping their head into the water and emerging once more with flushed cheeks, a flush that looks more of a blue hue than pink. “The last human I’d conversed with liked to call me Pi.”

“Pi?” It’s now Takeshi’s turn to tilt his head. “Why Pi?”

“I forget the reasoning, beyond a language connection to a word relating to water.” Pi muses, taking some of Takeshi’s hair in their fingers, looking delighted when the rub it between their fingers, as though the entire motion is exciting to them. “What is your name?”

“Takeshi.” He replies, moving his head down when Pi attempts to lean further upwards to touch his blond hair, finding the sight of them stretched almost fully upwards onto their arms from the waist up somehow both terrifying and beautiful.

“Tak-esh-i.” Pi tests the name as though it’s foreign on their tongue, tilting their head with each syllable. “A sweet name for a sweet boy.”

Takeshi can feel the flush creeping up his neck and across his cheeks, looking away from Pi for a temporary reprieve.

“I’m afraid I must be leaving you,” Pi stares thoughtfully, almost looking disappointed, the gills on their neck seeming to droop a little, “Tak-esh-i.”

“Why do you have to leave?” Takeshi asks, more than aware he sounds a little desperate but already wondering how he’s meant to go about his regular life with the knowledge that there were mermaids’ swimming around in the sea. Perhaps this contact was the only contact he’d had outside of his family for years and he was a little desperate to have someone outside of that group. Or maybe, he was just completely captivated by a mermaid with waist length red hair and pale green skin.

“The tide will come in soon, too thin for me to rest in and too dangerous for you to wade further out for.” They smile sadly, resting their head on Takeshi’s knees that are now completely submerged underwater and as a result, their head is completely under the water. Their eyes stare up at Takeshi from his lap though, still a dazzling green even under the water, smiling. Takeshi’s fingers curl in their hair, soft and flowing, much silkier than Takeshi could’ve even imagined. They pull away, twirling in the water to face outwards to the sea, staring back over their shoulder briefly.

“Goodbye.” Takeshi says, already missing the feeling of hair as fine and soft as silk under his calloused fingertips.

Just when he thinks he can’t get anymore melancholy as the tail disappears along with Pi from his eyesight, only leaving behind small patterns in the water as they go, he hears it. An enthralling sound carried through the water and into the air, as light as a feather it caresses him, striking and seductive. It’s like he can feel every emotion at once, like there’s a magnetism to the open waters now making him want to just surrender every inch of himself to the sea and never look back. The high notes remind him of when he’s flying through the air on the Nameless Street, breathless and euphoric, blissfully ignorant to the outside world and his troubles. The low notes remind him of the rain battering against tin rooftops, of the cold shivers of winter and the ache of an empty stomach and empathy too heavy to bear on his own shoulders. Yet, somehow, when the song drifts off, Takeshi feels like every worry and concern he had this evening has suddenly been dragged from the deepest depths of his being and plummeted down into the ocean with a being that has eyes too captivating to fathom and a voice that could kill.

 

* * *

 

 

It had been six weeks since that incident. Six weeks since he’d gone home to the Nameless Street and told no one what he’d seen, knowing that whilst they all love him, the story would be scarce of common sense for most people and he’d prefer them not to think of him as insane. Every morning and afternoon if he can, Takeshi finds the time to trail the beach from the top to the bottom, standing right by the shore and staring perhaps too hopefully for a glimpse of red hair in the water. On one of these days, he’s cruelly taunted by a red item of clothing swaying past in the water after having rushed over so fast he has to stop to catch his breath. Part of him wonders if he’d ever seen Pi at all, or if they were simply a figment of a tired and cynical imagination.

It was late afternoon, the sun hanging low in the sky and casting a dark orange hue everywhere. The waters were rather still and the shore as usual, was completely empty. Takeshi sits with his pants rolled up to his knees and shoes off, feet submerged in the water with his eyes closed. The entire experience is cathartic until he feels something grasp onto his ankle all of a sudden, yelping in response.

“Tekashi!” He hears the familiar voice, looking down to see a pale, webbed-fingered hand wrapped around his ankle and glimmering green eyes staring up at him.

“Takeshi.” He corrects, thankful his brain is capable of working when he feels like he’s flatlined.

“Tak-esh-i.” Pi says, nodding to themselves as though that makes more sense than their first attempt. “You came.”

“I’ve been coming here for weeks.” Takeshi replies, managing to hold off feeling embarrassed based on the fact that he did used to come to the beach every week regardless. Even if it wasn’t as frequent as it had been after he’d met Pi for the first time, they don’t know that.

“I see you sometimes.” They smile impishly, motioning with their head as they swim further out into slightly deeper water. Takeshi follows, until Pi moves their head above the water to stare. “Your…. clothes? They will get wet.”

“Oh,” Takeshi stares down at himself, feeling awkward as Pi’s eyes practically burn holes into his head, “right.”

He takes off his pants almost cautiously before remembering that he would often, before the Yakuza tainted the area, swim in the night time here, albeit close to the shore. It was rare to see anybody around which is why he carefully places his pants and jacket down without the fear of them being stolen. When it comes to his shirt, however, he’s more cautious. Yet, seeing Pi in the water waiting for him after weeks is enough to make him just take his shirt off with a sigh and wade into the water in his boxers until it’s up to his ribs.

“Hmm. You don’t like showing your flesh?” Pi asks, twirling around him at an alarming pace, their hair splayed out behind them like a halo. “Your skin. I mean.”

Takeshi chuckles at the wording, shrugging a little. Pi swims up to him until they too are upright, floating in the water right in front of him as their tail keeps them upright. Their hand creeps out, dragging gently across Takeshi’s chest as a small hissing noise escapes their throat again, their webbed fingers making the hairs on the back of Takeshi’s neck stand on end. Pi’s thumb brushes over Takeshi’s pectoral scars and they stare with wide eyes before making what could only be described as an affronted noise.

“Did another human do this to you?” They ask, their eyes narrowing in a way that twists Takeshi’s stomach, suddenly aware more of Pi’s danger than their beauty for once, even if it’s not directed at him. Pi’s thumb reiterates their point as it dances over the scars again. Takeshi smiles softly.

“Well, yes, but they’re not… they aren’t injuries.” He replies, moving his hands carefully over Pi’s own, revelling in the smooth skin and marvelling at the beautiful colour of it under the setting sun, Pi’s skin now looking warmer, as if it’s practically sparkling. “I guess you could say I asked someone to do this to me?”

“Why would you ask someone to do this to you?” Pi questions, resting their head against Takeshi’s neck, their hair falling down their own shoulder and over Takeshi’s, a reassuring weight. One of their hands snakes around Takeshi’s waist, a strong grip.

“I didn’t like the way I looked. It wasn’t me.” Takeshi relaxes into the embrace, an obscure level of serenity being attached to the gesture when Pi’s hand that was on his chest now moves up to stroke his hair soothingly. “But now I am me.”

“I see. I’m happy that you’re you, now.” Pi smiles against his neck and Takeshi swears he felt teeth momentarily drag near his collarbone. “You have an effulgent smile.”

“I don’t know what that means.” Takeshi laughs into Pi’s hair, inhaling the smell of salt and what could only be described as a sweet scent.

“Radiant.” Pi moves back to stare at Takeshi with unblinking eyes, then stares at his chest with that same look of adoration, something Takeshi had never traditionally associated with being stared at there. “Like the sun.”

“Thank you, Pi.” Takeshi feels uncharacteristically overwhelmed, the sensation of Pi’s soft fingers tracing over his chest and lips brushing near his shoulder making him realise just how long it’s been since he’s been touched like this at _all_. It makes him ache, yet he has no time to revel in the pain of being starved of contact with Pi curled around him, tail and all.

“Can I kiss you?” They ask, popping back up out of the water after a brief disappearance in which they’d corkscrewed at a dizzying pace in the water, a majestic show of finesse. “I would like to kiss you. Tak-esh-i.”

When they lean forward, Takeshi meets them halfway, their tail curling halfway around his legs and their arms around his neck. Their lips are soft and taste like the ocean but without the bitterness, Pi’s teeth nibbling at his bottom lip, coaxing Takeshi’s mouth open further as they kiss. Takeshi can feel Pi smiling into the kiss, letting out a small hissing noise when Takeshi slides his tongue into their mouth, Takeshi feeling the hairs all over his body standing on end. It’s an odd but definitely not unpleasurable sensation and when Pi pulls away, they have the same blueish flush across their cheeks that Takeshi has seen once before.

“I can see now why so many of my family seek legs to walk on the ground, Takeshi,” Pi smiles fondly, one of their sharp teeth sticking out as they do, “I would wish for nothing more than to travel this world by your side.”

“Then…why don’t you?” Takeshi twirls his fingers into Pi’s hair as it drifts around their body, like a beautiful crimson vine. “If you can.”

“It would require a lot of effort on your part and my own. Are you willing to exert such effort, to my benefit?” Pi nuzzles against his neck, making small hissing noises as they go, inhaling deeply.

“Well, it wouldn’t only be to your benefit. Just let me know what I need to do.” Takeshi replies, maybe too eagerly.

“Very well.”

 

* * *

 

 

Smokey has never cared much for convention, knowing that the average person would consider his family unconventional. It’s never bothered him, caring more about others than himself and more about their happiness than outside opinions. There is nobody he holds in higher esteem than his family, he would trust each of them with his life and he knows that they all reciprocate this feeling. To be abandoned is one of life’s worst experiences, something Smokey would not wish on anyone. Yet he found his own piece of happiness out of the cruelty, so he cannot be entirely resentful. Takeshi had been his first close friend alongside Shion, both equally loyal and admirable. Where Takeshi was quieter and more contemplative, Shion was brash and wore his heart on his sleeve. Smokey found both endearing and to this end could never refuse them both.

It’s to this particular point at which he finds himself staring at an industrial glass water tank, shaking his head as Pi twirls past the glass for the fiftieth time, under and over, up and down. It’s dizzying but captivating to watch and Smokey can understand why Eri stands transfixed whenever she’s not out playing with the younger children, hands pressed up against the glass with wide eyes. Then again, she’s not the only one. Yu is currently sat in front of the tank with transfixed eyes and an open mouth. As if they revel in the attention, Pi swirls to a stop right in front of the glass to stare at Yu and wave with webbed fingers, getting a rather dazed wave back from Yu in response.

“Smokey!” Takeshi hugs him from behind in greeting, a smile on his face.

It was hard for Smokey to disagree with having a mermaid living in the middle of the Nameless Street that sometimes walked on dry land with legs and sometimes whirred around in a water tank with a tail when Takeshi was like this. Takeshi who’d previously struggled with affection of any kind, now open to physical affection with them all, smiling and radiant. It was a change that Smokey could only thank Pi for, something he did regularly. Yet, Pi would stare at him with hypnotic eyes, tilt their head and just smile with all of their teeth, saying to Smokey that Takeshi had been like this all along, they’d just needed encouragement.

At the sight of Takeshi, Pi begins corkscrewing in the water again, showing off in a dazzling display of movement, their tail swishing around at a pace the eye could barely track, their hair like a majestic mane behind them. Takeshi walks up the steps slowly as though he wants to deliberately see how long Pi will show off for him, until he reaches the top of the tank and dangles his top half over the edge. Pi instantly swims to the top, their tail swishing back and forth as they float near the surface and stare at Takeshi adoringly. They lean up and kiss Takeshi, careful to place their hands on Takeshi’s abdomen to ensure he doesn’t fall too far forward and risk dropping in.

It was probably for the best. Shion had heard them singing only last week and dropped into the tank, after all. He still hadn’t gotten over the embarrassment of Pi pulling him out of the water and the tank somehow and had barely been able to so much as glance near the tank since.

Smokey just hopes he won’t fall into the same hypnosis anytime soon.

**Author's Note:**

> Yep. Something new for me! Hope it's a good read, comments always appreciated.


End file.
